Kakrapar civil works contract for L&T

08 December 2009

Indian engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will undertake main plant civil works of units 3 and 4 of the Kakrapar nuclear power plant after aRs8440 million ($181 million) contract by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

The scope of the work involves construction of the reactor building, auxiliary buildings and the waste management exhaust ventilation building. It also involves the construction of the heavy water upgrading plant, fabrication and erection of structural steel works involving civil, structural and architectural works. The project is scheduled to be completed in 49 months.

In March, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and L&T were awarded contracts by NPCIL to supply the steam generators for new reactors planned at Kakrapar. The contracts - each worth some Rs3450 million ($68.45 million) - are for the manufacture and supply of a total of eight steam generators, for use in the primary cycle of the two 700 MWe, indigenously-designed pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) planned for construction at Kakrapar, in Gujurat state.

The Kakrapar site already hosts two 220 MWe PHWRs, which entered commercial operation in 1993 and 1995, respectively. Kakrapar units 3 and 4, construction of which is due to begin over the coming months, are due to start operating in 2012. The new 700 MWe units will be the first deployed in India.

In late November, NPCIL and L&T announced a joint venture to construct a new facility at L&T's existing manufacturing site in Hazira, Surat, Gujarat state, to supply finished forgings for nuclear reactors, pressurizers and steam generators, and also heavy forgings for critical equipment in the hydrocarbon sector and for thermal power plants.

Kalpakkam FBR progresses

Meanwhile, construction of India's 500 MWe prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) has reached a major milestone with installation of the main vessel on 5 December. This was fabricated and supplied by L&T.

Easy does it: The vessel is lowered into placeat Kalpakkam (Image: L&T)

In 2002, the regulatory authority issued approval to start construction of the prototype FBR at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu state. It is being built by Bhavini, a government enterprise set up to focus on FBRs. The unit - expected to start up in 2010 and produce power in 2011 - will be fuelled with uranium-plutonium oxide.

Construction of the prototype FBR will take India's ambitious thorium program to stage two, and set the scene for eventual full utilisation of the country's abundant thorium resources to fuel reactors. Four more such fast reactors have been announced for construction by 2020.